Tough Mudder
by kilotangolima
Summary: Geared with a challenging new job and an unexpected relationship, Nick works hard in turning his life around. His resiliency is tested when he progressively faces numerous obstacles; finding himself involved in a terror that brews from the north
1. Dry Heat

_Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended._

 _Author's note: I didn't write for 2 years. I have finally broken out of the longest writer's block I had ever experienced. Nick and Judy just so happen to be my latest victims._

* * *

The Zootopia Police Department gym is bustling at five in the morning, filled with upbeat music, effort and smell of sweat. Amongst the crowd is a new and unlikely face; a fox, his hair red, highlighted with black tips, and his eyes – green and deadpan. Thinking back, he could still remember the moment when he made up his mind and submitted the job application to the HR personnel, and the moment in conclusion to the job interview when Chief Bogo reached out over the desk to firmly shake his hand– he knew he landed the position.

And all along, he knew Judy was standing by. She was there across the hallway from the HR room when he handed the application, and she was there outside the boardroom where the interviews were being held. He was nervous before stepping in but he kept a cool demeanor, and Judy fussing over his tie wasn't helping.

" _Nick, I asked you to shave even a little bit. I mean, I like you with a bit of scruff, but you need to look presentable. And this tie does not match your eye colour. It's orange, for the love of cheese and…_ " she mumbled in a hushed tone.

Nick smiled and leaned over her, placing his paws on the tie and slowly pulling it out of Judy's grasp.

"S _weetheart, at this rate you're going to end up shredding my tie, and possibly strangling me_." He flattened his tie against his chest after pulling the rest of it only to let it dangle between them. Judy backed away and her gaze climbed up from his chest to lips.

" _Good luck. This is it, Nick. If you never try, you'll never know_ ," she said cheerfully.

Still hunched over her, Nick looked sideways before dropping his voice to a whisper. " _I have an idea. How about a quick, good luck kiss before I sell myself to the federal government, huh?_ "

Judy's features softened as she reached out to Nick, her right paw finding his chin. After what seemed like forever, her lips curled into a lopsided smirk, and she playfully pushed Nick's face away.

" _Maybe later, fox_ ," she said as a sheep administrator appeared behind them.

" _Nicholas Wilde? You may see Chief Bogo now._ "

Nick entered the boardroom, wide-eyed and bushy-tailed, realizing that his sleepy childhood dreams of being a fox scout may as well have been building up to this occasion, and that his life may never be the same again.

His trailing thoughts linger a bit longer over Judy, surprising himself sometimes that he is daydreaming about her, out of all mammals. Prior to her, no one was able to pique his interest. He only cared about perfecting his con jobs and making money. But lately, he's been thinking about her. About the way he finds her nose twitches adorable. And when she smiles really wide, he can almost see a dimple form on her left cheek.

He blinks a couple of times at the high ceiling above him in the gym, the sparkles transitioning back into light fixtures, and the blasting music of Fur Fighters returning to his ears. He breathes heavily as he repositions himself more comfortably on the bench, laying on his back.

With his paws planted firmly on the floor, Nick un-racks the bar with straight arms and lowers it to his mid-chest. Grimacing, he presses it back up until he has locked his elbows, slightly shaking while sweat borders his forehead. He's been increasing the bar weight bit by bit on a daily basis, and in turn, it earns him muscles that were not there before. Not bad for someone who's two months into employment with the ZPD.

In the opposite wing of the training grounds, specifically the 200-yard shooting range, Judy empties the shell of her gloc-17 onto a cheetah suspect cardboard target. Her accuracy has improved, but she still missed some easy shots by inches.

She returns the weapon to the counter and removes her earmuffs, then makes her way to the locker room. She dresses up in her dark blue uniform - placing the duty belt on her hips, ensuring her weapon is locked and loaded, clipping the radio communication device over her right shoulder, and pinning the badge over her chest.

It's now six-thirty in the morning as she weaves through the busy floor of the police department. As usual, Clawhauser greets her by offering some type of baked good when she passes by the main reception. She stops to look up at a television screen hanging a good distance from Clawhauser's desk, the headline catching her attention.

ZNN has been reporting an anomaly moving about in a recently discovered region in Tundratown, in the much deeper north. The penguin archaeologists who were responsible for uncovering a high wall of ice lining the foot of the biggest frozen mountain in the animal kingdom have since disappeared. The Mammalian Investigative Unit of ZPD relied on delayed and blurry video feeds from the archaeologists showing what looks like a really big, four-legged animal emerging from a hole in the thinning ice wall. And this animal was naked and walking on all fours.

"Amazing, I'll give it that," a voice startles Judy. Nick is looking up at the screen as well, gingerly sipping coffee from his coffee cup. There's a pair of sunshades sitting atop his head, his hair still a bit wet from the shower after exercising. "What makes it alarming is that it hasn't been classified yet."

The news report goes on to show reactions and commentaries from different mammals, ranging from civilians to animals in power. An exchange follows during a live coverage in front of the Nature Summit Building in the Rainforest District.

" _This is a result of climate change. When are we going to wake up and realize that the kingdom may just one day crumble to nothing? This land is where we live, and there's only one, we should take care of it!"_ an elephant protester says. Behind him is an angry crowd, holding up signs whilst growing in number.

 _"Climate change is not real. It's a propaganda made up by pandas in Tundratown so they could take money out of suckers like you,"_ a gorilla businessman says, infuriating the crowd even more.

"The north is melting and now someone is hundreds and thousands of years late to the evolution party. I would hate to be that guy," Nick continues, glancing at Judy. "He's in for a rude awakening."

Judy sighs before lowering her gaze from the screen. "The MIU hasn't requested for any assistance from the police unit. They're sending some of their agents up there without much information, let alone defense," Judy crosses her arms in front of her. "It could turn ugly."

Nick's eyebrows furrow and he shoots a sidelong look down at Judy. "It sounds like you really want to be assigned to north Tundratown these days, Carrots. We've had this discussion before."

"I'm just thinking, you know, we should be ready for anything."

"I won't let you volunteer yourself to go up there. We don't even know what that thing is!" Nick is now standing in front of her, blocking her view of the television screen.

Judy manages to maintain her tone despite a growing irritation. "And since when did you become _my_ chief?"

"I heard the word chief. My ears are burning," Chief Bogo pushes his way between Nick and Judy and places his hooves on their shoulders. "My two favourite newest recruits…for now. I'm sorry to interrupt such a tender moment between you two, but I'm going to have to kick your butts over to the bullpen, _now_!"

Nick takes in another sip of coffee. "Ah yes. I love the sound of dire urgency at six thirty in the morning. An excellent start to the day, right chief?"

The chief leaves in haste, followed by a python reporter who somehow managed to squeeze through security. The chief ignores the blabbing reporter as if by routine, and turns around right before swinging the bullpen doors open.

"Daylight's burning, officers," Chief Bogo shouts at Nick and Judy.

Judy almost hops as she turns towards Nick. "What if he is assigning us to Tundratown? What if we're getting the unclassified loose mammal case?!" Judy exclaims, nudging Nick in the arm.

Nick responds with a sigh and throws the empty cup into the garbage before both disappear into the bullpen, his other paw on the small of Judy's back.

* * *

It turns out there were no new tasks to be appointed regarding the loose mammal case at all. Not even a search for the missing penguin archaeologists. Nick and Judy find themselves on a side street in the outskirts of the city bordering the Sahara Square, near the Canyonlands. The police department received a tip from an anonymous caller describing himself as a 'former gang member of Hyenanos'. Hyenanos are one of the many gang circles residing in the desert undergrounds, and hold the reputation for being the most violent.

The caller gave the ZPD a certain location and time, and merely disclosed that if the police follow the narrow road that rips through the middle of barren desert until they hit the train tracks, they will find a five billion dollar secret.

Judy is walking aimlessly outside of the police cruiser, looking over the files. Nick is getting impatient inside the vehicle, and occupies himself by plugging in the target location coordinates on the GPS installed on the dashboard. He reaches for the shades sitting on his head and plays with the frame leg, rubbing it along his lower lip.

Judy finally hops in, nose still buried in the folder.

"This doesn't make sense. The call was vague and cryptic. What exactly are we supposed to expose here?"

"It's an hour and a half drive to the desert. We have an hour and half to review the backstory," Nick replies as he puts his shades on and careens his way through the busy streets heading towards the border into Sahara Square.

"Nick, I feel like we're diving snout-first into this. How do we even know the informant is reliable? What if there's really nothing there while an incident ends up transpiring in the city, or in Tundratown?"

"The chief himself screened this case before handing it to us. He also assembled a team as our backup just in case. We're just ahead of them by a couple of miles. Don't worry, ok?" Nick glances sideways at Judy and gives her a warm smile.

The high sun casts shadows on his face, making his fur almost transparent at the tips. It occurs to her altogether how handsome her partner is, and that he has come a long way from where he left off as a con artist. She smiles back at him.

"Come on Carrots, let's get those pages flipping."

* * *

They're almost there.

Judy is looking out the window in silence, starting to get bored of the same desert stretch. Nick is belting out to a song by Fleetwood Yak when he suddenly slams the break - noticing something about the dusty road below them – and alas, the train tracks. He turns off the engine and jumps out of the cruiser, focused on the set of tire marks that split into two – one heading east and the other heading west. Judy looks on ahead of them and takes note of the sprawling growth of Mormon tea bushes, which were taller than usual. Joshua trees tower over the other desert plants, and dead thickets roll and accumulate, covered in dust and sand.

"It's eerily quiet here," Judy whispers as she lowers herself to the ground and plucks her gun from the holster.

"Yes, try not to make a sound. This kind of quiet enables our noise to travel really fast, and I don't want any welcoming crew right now."

Nick realizes one set of tire marks stop at just about the beginning of the line of tea bushes, and the other one was the same, just far on the other side.

"There are two vehicles beyond this train track and beyond these bushes. I suggest we split and approach from both sides," Judy says as they walk over the tracks and pause two metres from the bushes.

Nick grabs Judy's arm to stop her from treading further. She turns and sees him sniffing around like a maniac.

"I'm picking up a couple of familiar scents. I've dealt with them before," he lets her go as a look of panic washes over his expression. "These mammals are no good."

"You've _dealt_ …? Who are they coming from?"

"The Hyenanos is one of them. The other smells like the Quixotes," Nick is scrambling for his telecom and blurts out an inaudible order through the device. He draws his gun as Judy turns on her heels to head to the opposite direction, following the second set of tire marks. Nick swallows a lump down his throat before he pushes his way through the tea bush and appears on the other side, his eyes quick to spot Judy emerge many feet away from him as well.

The air turns heavier, and so does the silence.

The two tiptoe deeper into the magical woods, surveying the area. More dead thickets greet them at their feet. Nick finally stops walking and lets his eyes drag along the wide distance between him and Judy, and finally locks eyes with her. She is now also facing him while standing still, her mouth agape, fixated by something looming behind Nick.

"Hey Judy?" his voice crackles, coming from her telecom.

"Yes Nick," she buzzes back.

"Do you mind digging a rabbit hole for the two of us, for cover?"

Judy nods slightly, cringing at the fact that they had walked into a set-up.

"Freeze! ZPD!" Nick yells as he turns around and points the gun at the shadow closing in on him from behind. The gang leader of Hyenanos, Rodrigo, is pacing back and forth, aiming a gun back at him. Across from Judy's side, the head of Quixotes, Don Marco, is aiming a gun at her.

Rodrigo has a look of disgust towards the Quixotes. "Who called the cops? This wasn't part of the plan," he shouted from across. A bunch of his hyena gang members step out from hiding, making intimidating noises.

"What do you take me for, Rodrigo, an idiot?" Don Marco replies, itching to pull the trigger. "Why would I want to do that when all I wanted today was to get paid for the goods by our employer?" The rest of the coyotes spill out behind him as well, loaded with guns.

"No, no no, you lie, Don Marco. How dare you rat me out to the feds," the hyena leader says in a raspy voice. "Now you all gotta go."

"After you, old friend."

Judy could feel her heart beating out of her chest and her arms are starting to cramp from holding up the gun for too long. A bead of sweat rolls down the side of her cheek. Nick is quick to scan his surroundings, gauging trees and thick bushes. He draws a sharp intake of breath.

A gunshot is fired from the Hyenanos first, quickly followed by a second. The Quixotes respond with three shots. Nick's quick reflex lifts him off the ground as he leaps and veers to the left, rolling into a cluster of Joshua trees, while Judy easily springs high and above the whizzing bullets and veers to the right, landing in the tea bushes.

Both catch their breaths as they peek through their hiding places to assess the situation in front of them, confirming some gang members are now sprawled unconscious on the ground. The two gangs keep exchanging multiple shots at each other.

Judy jumps out of the bushes and plops into another one, carefully aiming her gun at a specific target. She shoots one coyote in the arm, making him howl and drop his weapon. She moves on to the next unsuspecting coyote and shoots him in the wrist. Decreasing in numbers, the injured coyotes slowly retreat into the back.

Nick is using a tree as a shield as he shoots at the hyenas from a distance. In between shots, he spots a black Cadillac parked behind a patch of tall grass. Suddenly, he feels a hard push from behind, shoving him unawares into the sand. He blinks out sand particles in his eyes and watches his gun tumble far away from him. He groans and painfully turns his body over so he is now laying on his back instead of his stomach. He commands his elbows to prop him up while he glares at Rodrigo.

"A conniving fox working for the police department. Now I've seen everything," the leader of the hyena gang stalks him, and all Nick could see was the glint from the gun's barrel pointing at him.

"I know, right? I'm telling you, the benefits and pension are top notch," Nick is starting to feel the sting from all the scratches he has accumulated.

He curls himself into a ball and with his paws planted on the ground; he stretches out and lunges upwards at Rodrigo. Rodrigo hits the ground and Nick pins the astonished gang leader below him, determined to take the gun from Rodrigo's hand. In the corner of his eye, he sees a hyena on the attack towards him, so he places his paw over the gun that he still hasn't snatched away from Rodrigo, tilts it in an angle and pulls the trigger.

The hyena is taken down, shot in the leg and writhing in pain.

Nick returns his attention to Rodrigo who is now trying to shrug him off his chest. He makes a ball out of his fist and punches Rodrigo square in the left jaw, a spritz of blood flying in the air, and to ensure he is knocked out, he then strikes him across the right.

He drags Rodrigo by the collar of his shirt to the parked Cadillac and fishes out his handcuffs. He locks Rodrigo's wrist in the cuff on one end and attaches the other end to the door handle of the car.

He reunites with his gun and picks it up along the way as he strides to the middle of the battle field, his thoughts realigning to Judy. The shooting has ceased but there is one problem.

Don Marco is standing still, facing away from Nick. Nick's heart skips a beat when he realizes Judy is nowhere to be found.

Raising his gun at Don Marco, his hands tremble in fear and contained rage. "It's over, I have 10-unit backup coming for your ass."

Don Marco does not respond right away. Instead he starts to chuckle.

"That's too bad. I was just starting to get to know your cute little girlfriend here a little better."

He turns around and is holding Judy by the neck. She has both her paws on his, trying to break free. There's an open gash on her forehead and she is desperately gasping for air. Her head is shaking back and forth and she's mouthing something to Nick.

"You let her go," Nick calmly gives an order, his eyes reduced to a slit.

"You're nothing but a fox. You don't scare me," Don Marco says before breaking into laughter.

Nick moves two steps closer, cautious in calculating with his feet, and more cautious in calculating his accuracy.

"I'm going to count to three…"

"Give it up fox. Don't move or your bunny is dead."

"One."

Don Marco reaches for his back pocket to pull out a pistol and waves it around carelessly. He somehow must find humour in the situation because he starts to laugh again.

"Two." Nick takes two more steps.

"I told ya not to move!" Don Marco's face twists into anger in a split second, lifts his pistol and shoves it into Judy's left ear.

Judy closes her eyes.

Nick slightly dips his head as a single bullet is dislodged from his gun. The sound is particularly louder, echoing throughout the emptiness of the desert. He holds his position in tact until he feels his muscles soften, his eyes strained from refusing to blink. Disturbed sand particles create a coarse fog between them, reducing visibility.

On the other side, Don Marco starts to loosen his grip over Judy's neck, and gradually he falls, turning into an unconscious pile on the ground. Nick shot him in the shoulder, and he was ready to shoot again if he wasn't subdued enough.

Judy lands on her knees, coughing wildly, her eyes haven't peeled off of Nick's who has now lowered his arms to his sides. Nick notices Judy is wildly distressed, frantically trying to stand up, albeit unsuccessfully.

"Three," a voice materializes from behind Nick, making him swivel around. Rodrigo, whose one hand is still cuffed to the Cadillac, flashes him a smile before he gets trigger happy with a different handgun he must've secretly stashed in his expensive suit, sending two rapid bullets flying into Nick.

Judy's head is spinning and she doesn't even recognize the scream that is coming from her. Before Nick falters and hits the ground, the Emergency Response Team charges their way through the bushes and finally neutralizes the head of the Hyenanos for good.


	2. Chasing Snowflakes

_In his late teens, Nick was recruited to an illegitimate call centre occupying a space in an abandoned warehouse in the east end of Zootropolis. The group falsely identified themselves as agents working for Zootopia Revenue Services, scaring vulnerable civilians into sending electronic payments to ZRS for overdue taxes, otherwise an 'arrest' would be made by the ZPD. If the scare tactic was successful, they would then instruct the victim to pay through unconventional methods. The money they siphoned added up to hundreds or thousands of Zootopian bucks._

 _This was one of many fraudulent schemes Nick took part in. Half the money he collected from his list of con jobs was kept aside until it was enough to buy his mother a small apartment in the Rainforest District. He did whatever it took to protect his mother from his drunk, deadbeat father, even if it made his father despise him._

 _The night his mother planned to leave their house, his father came home unusually early, confused and already smelling like beer. As his mother rushed down the hallway and dodged both of them having a stand-off in the living room, his father already dismissed seeing her run out the door hauling big bags and turned to him instead._

 _"I know you have lots o' money laying around somewhere, boy. I don't know where you be getting all these cash…" his father's green eyes bore into him, "…but I'm gonna need some." Nick's appearance takes mostly after his father._

 _"Surprise surprise, you don't know anything about me, dad."_

 _"Well, I know you can be a complete jerk." His father advanced on him by inches. Nick took a couple of steps back. "…Ditching fox scout when you were little. Skipping school almost everyday. Your mother worked hard earning money so you could be something."_

 _"At least she worked."_

 _Before Nick could make sense of things, he was laying on the floor squirming in pain because his father punched him in the stomach. Bending over him, his father proceeded to take a twenty-dollar bill that was peeking out of his front shirt pocket._

"Nick?"

 _He stayed flat on the floor, holding back tears, listening to his father leave the house for another drinking session. He embraced himself because no one else cared to, especially now that his mother was gone. He already missed her warmth._

"Nick!"

Nick's red-rimmed eyes shoot open, and his first reaction to regained consciousness is a spell of hard, dry cough. Judy is kneeling beside him, unbuttoning his uniform to reveal a mangled bulletproof vest. Two big dents from two small bullets. She carefully disassembles his vest just as the paramedics arrive and bring out a stretcher behind her.

Judy positions herself closer to Nick and caresses his ears, trying to calm him and his racing heart. His coughing has slowed but he's madly panting for air.

"Hey there," she greets him back to reality. She beams before dipping her head to graze the tip of his nose with hers.

"Hey yourself," he smiles weakly as his right eye twitches from either winking or wincing in pain.

Nick struggles to lift a hand to put over his stomach, which feels like it has been ripped in half. Judy rises from her kneeling position to let the paramedics take over.

Nick lifts an index finger to point at her forehead. "Carrots. You're hurt," he wheezes through a semi-closed mouth. The paramedics count to two before they lift him off the ground.

Judy receives treatment and bandage over her wound while she watches Nick disappear into a First Responders vehicle. The backup team is making good progress in identifying casualties and overseeing injured gang members, tiering them into police vans before heading to the nearest headquarters. Judy makes her way to the black Cadillac owned by the Hyenanos, specifically interested in the trunk. She pops it open and notices three large bags jammed in side by side. Opening all the zippers, she is stunned at what she uncovers.

There are thick wads of bundled Zootopian money, which she estimates to be up to high hundreds, in large increments of $50,000 and $100,000. She leaves the trunk open and turns on her heels, running across to the other side to look for the other car the Quixotes used to drive. When she finds it tucked deeper in the woods, there are three bags as well.

She shudders as she reaches for the zippers, revealing endless stacks of money, and the smell of it is starting to make her dizzy. This is it. All the money from the Hyenanos, plus all the money from the Quixotes. This is the five billion dollar secret according to the informant.

Chief Bogo approaches Judy, offering her a cup of coffee. She smiles as she takes it from his hand. They both stare at the moneybags.

"These cash that you and Officer Wilde recovered were the total sales from the illegal 'miracle pharmaceutical' scandal that had been plaguing the health and sciences ministry in Tundratown. On top of that, the streets of Sahara Square can breathe better knowing that two of the most notorious gang circles are off their streets and undergrounds. Job well done, Hopps."

The chief slams the trunk close and ventures to the paramedics van where Nick is now sitting on the vehicle floor by the back door, topless and his torso wrapped in thick bandages. He talks to Nick as well, debriefing him, but the conversation is lasting quite longer. When Chief Bogo finally leaves and heads to his cruiser, Judy catches a smile brighten Nick's face. And it stays there.

Judy strolls over to him who is now lost in a quick thought.

"I appreciate you saving me. That was very brave of you," she says tenderly.

The last of the police vans turn their engine on to begin their trip out of the desert as a remaining small group of officers wrap up clearing the crime scene. The latest to arrive are two tow trucks for transporting the gangsters' vehicles on route to ZPD headquarters.

"When I graduated from the academy and got the job, I swore to myself that I will protect the community, and you," Nick pauses and darts a look at his swaying feet. After a moment, he finally looks up and lightly shakes his head. "Judy, if something bad happens to you, I would never be able to forgive myself."

There's a pleasing kind of ache in Judy's heart that it moved her hand subconsciously over to her chest, an ache warning her that she is continually falling hard for her partner and her friend. Yet the ache feels so good. And perhaps she has gone beyond falling.

She is crashing.

But her mind is telling her otherwise. It reminds her to be careful and to tame her emotions, for they are under particular circumstances. They are co-workers, and more glaringly, they are two completely different species. It's all too taboo.

She places her coffee cup down on the van beside Nick as a silent offering. He is still hunched over; arms stretched and paws gripping the edge of the vehicle. She takes in the sight of him - hurt, brooding, his shoulders and arms accentuated by bulging muscles, and his chest significantly wider under all the layers of bandages. She takes his face in both her hands and coos over him.

"You're injured, Nicholas Wilde. I'm going to have to prescribe you plenty dosages of hugs and carrot cake."

"Oh yeah, now you're t—", Nick stops to cringe and cry a little as Judy, on high tiptoes, suddenly reaches up to wrap her arms around his neck.

"Ow ow ow! It hurts, Carrots, seriously it feels like I got hit by a train."

They are both distracted by a screeching ZNN news anchor van coming to an abrupt stop after slamming through the tea bushes, enveloping them in a blanket of dust.

* * *

A bear doctor ensured him it would take maximum three months for broken ribs to fully heal. HR urged him to take a three-week leave. Judy is surprised to see him walking around in the headquarters one week after the incident in the desert, lugging stacks of fat folders in his arms. Some officers who made effort to snub him when he was new would gravitate towards him now, making small talk, asking him about progress of his recovery.

Nick and Judy clocked in plenty of airtime on TV, providing interviews and press conferences the same day they wrapped up the Hyenanos-Quixotes case. Their faces have been plastered all over newspapers and social media.

Laughter erupts within Nick's new circle of friends, and just as they are getting rowdier, Nick decides it is the best time to make an exit. He looks content, light on his paws, and almost looks as healthy as a horse.

He finds an empty desk in the conference room on the second floor, turns on the desk lamp and arranges his folders by case date. He perks up when he sees Judy enter the room.

"Back so soon?," she asks, turning on the rest of the lights in the narrow room.

"I have to catch up on paperwork, otherwise Chief Bogo's right up my tail. I'm…uhh, many weeks behind," he says sheepishly.

Judy walks in further, approaching him with a coy look. She surprises even herself when she hops up to sit on the edge of his desk, facing him. She lets her paws slightly brush against the side of his knees. "I wouldn't worry about that. You seem to be easing up into the chief's good side anyway."

"Gotta admit, that's one of my goals coming in here. He seems to be the kind of guy you'd want to drink and play poker with after work."

Judy couldn't tell if he is being sarcastic or not, but she chuckles at a mental vision of Chief Bogo flipping the poker table in anger because Nick cheated, beer bottles flying everywhere. "You're getting there, Slick. And at this rate, you may as well be the whole department's poster boy."

Nick opens his first folder and grins.

"You know, I'm happy where I am at right now. I feel like, for the first time, I finally belong," he confesses, feeling his soul breathe. "And I have you…to thank for it. You inspired this huge difference in my life. So, thank you."

Judy blushes, locking her paws together and twiddling her thumbs. "I'm glad it's been working out for you, for the better."

Their eyes lock and engage into a dance, a timid push and pull, fueled by curiosity and something that looks almost like love.

Leaning on the doorframe with his arms crossed in front of him, Chief Bogo clears his throat and jolts Nick and Judy out of their dreamy stance.

Judy hops off the desk and nods at Chief Bogo as he reminds her of a Roll Call commencing in ten minutes. After she disappears into the elevator going down, the chief orders Nick to check with Clawhauser and obtain bulk statistics for generating comparative reports, now that he is assigned to paperwork duty for the next couple of weeks.

Chief Bogo huffs before leaving the conference room, which is now being filled with more police officers. Just as he is about to close the door, he pops back in again to say one more thing to Nick.

"By the way, I don't play poker. But I'll take you up on some…refreshing beverages, after work, of course," he smiles and it kind of scares Nick. "Now stop making googly-eyes and produce me some documents!"

* * *

Due to the allotted time for his recovery, they are reduced to seeing each other only in the early hours of the morning either in the gym or right before roll call, and then Judy is sent out onto the field with various temporary partners. If she's not able to catch him in the morning at all even just to say hi, she leaves him carrot muffins with sticky notes on the wrapper. Nick fell into a habit of leaving work two hours earlier, bringing small chunks of paperwork home with him.

On a Wednesday, Judy is pacing down the produce section of a grocery store after her shift when her cell phone rings and Nick's profile picture shows up on the screen.

She tucks her phone between her cheek and shoulder so she could examine a pineapple with two hands. Sitting on the rack ledge in front of her is a large honeydew.

"Hey you."

"Hey yourself," Nick greets her fondly in a thick monotone. "What are you doing?"

Judy feels an electric surge of joy run through her upon hearing his voice and she ends up squeezing the neck of the pineapple.

"I'm contemplating between a honey dew or a pineapple. I'm not sure if this pineapple would be sweet or sour. I may get ripped off. Have you ever returned a bad produce?"

On the other line, in his bachelor's pad, Nick emits a low grunt as he flexes his right arm, pumping a thirty-five Zootopian pound dumbbell. It is dark in the room and the only light illuminating his face is the unsteady flashing from the TV. He is sitting on the edge of his bed, his feet on the hardwood floor surrounded by two more pairs of dumbbells in different weights.

"I'd get the honeydew. It would be sweet for sure," he suggests, punctuated by another quick grunt. "I like sweet things."

"Oh…right…yeah," Judy trails, listening to him breathe into the phone. "Uhh, what are you up to, Nick?" She looks flushed while staring at a pineapple.

He takes his time to respond as he gives it another good flex to mark the end of his set, then places the barbell on the equipment rack. He grabs a towel and wipes the sweat off his face and collarbone. He's careful not to touch his bandaged torso.

"You know, just hanging out, slaving away on paperwork," he glances at a mess of papers and folders on his bed. There is even more on the computer table. He gently pushes some away so he could make space and lay down on the bed. "I, ahh, there's a fancy pizza restaurant in lower Tundratown called Baci, and I was wondering if I could take you there on Saturday?"

In the grocery store, Judy picks up the honeydew and places it in her cart. She swears she detected a hint of nerves in his tone.

"It's a date."

* * *

Lower Tundratown is a charming and quaint area filled with local coffee shops, indoor and outdoor fresh markets and family-owned restaurants. The streets are lined with fairy lights and the lamp posts adorned with hanging pots of winter roses and snowdrops. Lush, snow-covered pine trees mark every third block of the sidewalks running up and down the main streets.

Judy is wearing a white wool coat and a pink, slouchy knitted hat, slouchy enough to cover most of her ears. She trudges through two inches of snow on the ground in her knee-high flat boots, making her way through the lively sidewalk along Yukon Street.

Stopping in front of a vintage store, she sighs as she checks the time. This is where Nick asked her to meet. She cranes her neck side to side, wondering if he is even there at all. She watches as couples pass her by, walking hand in hand, and it makes her smile.

In a sea of rushing mammals, a flash of red catches her eye, standing about three yards away. She watches Nick as his roaming eyes land on her. His head slants on one side as he attempts to hold their gaze together, their views of each other constantly obstructed by the moving crowd. He is wearing a light pink shirt under gray button-down cardigan, dark jeans, and a black scarf hanging halfway around his neck. He puts his phone away and waves.

Nick reserved a booth by the tall windows and near the restaurant's fireplace. Instead of sitting across each other, Judy sidles up next to him so they could look at the menu together.

Judy orders a mushroom and artichoke pizza while Nick has a rather interesting selection. She has learned to leave it up to Nick to be interested in the most bizarre or expensive item when it comes to picking food. The server is quick to arrive at their table, doing a double-take of the two before she leaves.

"So that's what smoked minnows and spinach pizza with balsamic reduction looks like," she says incredulously. "That's quite fancy."

"A fox has to eat his protein. I'm a growing boy," he lightly pats his stomach before he picks up a slice and devours it. He stops and glances at Judy because he suddenly feels rude. "Wanna try?"

Judy shakes her head. "Nick, you know I'm a vegan."

"Right, sorry, this is…" Nick is chewing away as if his life depended on it while trying to be graceful at the same time. "…oh my god this is so good."

All Judy can do is smile and try to pop the invisible heart bubbles around Nick who is now too busy destroying his pizza.

* * *

They drink hot apple cider after the main entrée and move to the other side of the booth so they could watch the fireplace. Nick has his arm around Judy and she is bashfully resting her head against his chest. He realizes that they have been tolerating too many dirty looks and subtle insults from other customers in the restaurant to the point that it is actually bothering him. But he keeps it to himself.

He pulls Judy closer.

"How has work been?" he talks into the top of Judy's head.

"It's been ok. I'm stationed a lot in Sahara Square to oversee the protests by the buffalos and bison protecting the Great Plains. They simply don't want urbanization in their lands and it's starting to get violent there."

"These mega businesses just want to plow their way through nature with their money huh," he says as they listen to the fire crackle, "…so that they could get more… money."

"Sadly. It seems like that's what the kingdom is being bottlenecked into."

Nick catches Judy's face fall a little. He gives her a nudge and a squeeze on the shoulder.

"So…do you…sort of, miss having me as a partner, maybe?"

Judy is studying the swirls on the surface of her drink before she looks up at Nick. "I do. Chief Bogo has been partnering me up with Walter Wolferton lately," she lifts the mug to her lips to take a sip of cider and puts it down on the table. "He's got some serious temper."

"Wolferton eh? Damn that guy and his luscious white fur and stoic demeanor. You know, he's the most gorgeous Canis Lupus officer in the ZPD, but only when I'm not around."

Judy breaks away from Nick only to advance towards him again, quivering comically on purpose, her shoulders raised and paws curling in and out. "Oh yeah? Says who?" she says in a witchy voice.

"…Whoa! No physical torture towards the injured fox for now, remember our deal?" his paws shoot up in surrender.

"But I only wanted to pinch your chin!" She reaches out to him but he's quick to grab her arm in mid-air.

"Lies. You were going for the nipple. You wanted to pinch my nipple, that's what you were trying to get into."

"Was not!" Judy shrieks through her teeth with crooked smile on her face. Half of her wants to kiss him and other half wants to kick him. He is not aware that he is still holding her arm and is drawing her back in.

"Hmm. You know what, I don't think tickles fall under our 'physical torture' category," she has a new evil plot.

"Tickles?" he says in a rather serious intonation, his left eyebrow arching. The fox looks like he is in a deep thought. "Tickles are definitely up there…"

Judy steals this chance to use her free hand and creep up to Nick's armpit so she could tickle him senseless, their laughter ringing through the restaurant.

* * *

Another hour expires into the night, bringing in a soft snowfall. The air is crisp and smells minty like pine needles. They walk along the circumference of a big pond that was turned into a skating rink, hands in their pockets and eyes on each other.

They flag one of the empty benches built around the skating rink to sit on, Nick picking up a folded Tundratown newspaper on the seat before he settles. The main headline features the unclassified mammal on the loose, articling new theories by scientists and advices on how to be vigilant, how civilians can help catch it, and what the government plans to do with it once it has been caught. Aside all the talks, the unknown mammal hasn't really been seen or heard from, making the mystery snowball into a larger fear.

Judy catches a brief glimpse of a small pistol hiding under Nick's cardigan when he shifted around.

Just as Nick is putting away the newspaper, a rabbit stranger makes sure she stops in her tracks to inform them that they are freaks for being together. The increase in Judy's heart rate is palpable as she gathers herself up to give the rabbit a piece of her mind. However, Nick is a step ahead of her and grabs her by the waist, placing her back down beside him. In a soft whisper, he tells her not to sweat the petty things, leaning in right up to a small area behind her ear and lingers there. Judy calms down and giggles. This manages to anger the rabbit stranger even more.

Come nine o'clock pm, they notice the rink is starting to clear up quite rapidly. It appears most locals are following a curfew schedule, wanting to keep safe from the anticipated northern mammal appearance. There is a crackpot theory out there stating that the mammal might be nocturnal.

Next thing Nick knew, Judy is dragging him into a kiosk renting out ice skates and pushes him into the skating rink. Nick yelps as his legs wobble at first, completely off-balance, his arms automatically stretching out to hold on to Judy's shoulders. Judy turns around and skates backward, offering both her hands to Nick for support.

They skate in lazy loops around the empty frozen pond, laughing and talking about nothing, and at times irritating each other. The wash of pastel yellow light from the lampposts above them make the delicate falling snow look ethereal.

While Judy is in the middle of singing a song to Nick, she twists her ankle and commits a misstep, digging the back of her skating shoe into the ice. She gasps as she tips backwards, her cottontail hitting the rink hard, pulling Nick down with her.

His skates pivot left and right before he tumbles, thinking quick to fall on his knees rather than crushing Judy with his body weight and making his injured ribs worse. They slide fast across the rink, Judy flat on her back and Nick hovering over her with his arms and lower legs trapping her sides.

Nick peels his eyes off Judy below him and lifts his head up to see that they are charging headfirst into the middle of a snowbank.

They groan as they make impact, burrowing themselves a hole in the tall pile of snow.

They remain embedded in it as they laugh at themselves, realizing it's now too comfortable to move. They sit up and examine each other as snow continues to float around them, Judy dusting off Nick's scarf and Nick repositioning the hat on Judy's head.

While she finishes flicking the last flakes of snow on Nick's scarf, he finds himself tangled in a whirlwind of thoughts that demanded attention. She keeps her hand buried in his scarf as he remains mute and just blinks at her. She could tell his mind is working.

Finally, Nick begins to move in on Judy, aggressive at first, and pauses for a split second before softly pressing his lips against hers. She tenses up but relaxes quickly in his arms, placing a paw on one side of his face as she languidly adjusts her angle, allowing him to deepen their kiss.

* * *

 _Was it love? I think it was but I'm far from sure_  
 _I'd never felt that way before, was it love?_  
 _Just friends, am I a fool to be asking for,_  
 _A fool to wish that we could be more than friends?_

 _Take a step and come out of the shade_  
 _I can tell you're no longer afraid_  
 _I'm helpless without your warming smile_

 _-Come Out of the Shade, Perishers_


	3. Tailwind

Judy is looking out the window with her cellphone attached to her ear, watching the sun set behind an array of distant skyscrapers. Below her, on street level, is a busy intersection of Main and Bay. She has become at ease with the sight of whirling crowds and the noise of honking cars in the big city, which is a sharp contrast from where she hails from in the province.

There's a sizzling noise coming from her small nook of a kitchen, which is through the door to the right after the main door, and the smell of onion and garlic cooking is making her mouth water. She perches her arms on the window frame, pushing the curtains aside.

"Come on, Judy, it will be fun," a voice coming from the other end of the line tells her. Judy has a pensive look on her face. "Besides, how many times do I turn twenty-five?"

"I know, Ruby. I'd love to see you and the group again. Feels like it's been years!"

"Almost two years to be exact. You need to visit. Bunnyburrow is slowly catching up to your Zootropolis, you know. There are many new condos and malls popping up now. "

"I'm not exactly sure that's how I would want Bunnyburrow to turn into…" Judy smiles at quick flashes of her memories growing up. The crackling noise from the kitchen continues, now followed by the sound of knife working against a chopping board.

Ruby squeaks as if she just remembered a burning question. "So…are you seeing anyone of significance right now?"

Judy could sense a smile on her friend. She puffs her chest and keeps it there, eyes flitting sideways before staring back down at street level. A fast streak of blush colours her cheeks.

"Umm…yes, there is someone," Judy says, as if treading carefully among eggshells.

"Ohmygod, Judy! Details? Like, where is he from, how did you meet, age?" Ruby grills her with the mandatory questions.

Judy slowly releases the air she's been holding in and lowers her voice.

"He's uhh, he's from the city too, but from the north end while I'm from the west. Not sure exactly where."

Ruby nods her head, eager to hear more.

"He works for the force as well, and he's eight years older than me," Judy continues.

"Wow, look at you, going for the mature guys eh?" Ruby says with an unmistakable intrigue in her voice. This emits a laugh from Judy.

"He's not always mature. He could be very annoying, wisecracking, and he'd frustrate me to the point that we're bickering," she chuckles, picking up a fine-toothed comb and runs it down the back of her ears. "Just the way I like him, I guess."

"Hold on, as far as I know, and I'm pretty current with news from the city, other than yourself, there are no other rabbit police officers, am I right?" Ruby is slowly realizing something, recalling all the news reports and press conferences she'd ever seen featuring Judy in it. It was never Judy by herself. There was always someone else standing close by.

"You're right," Judy is watching a set of street lights turn green and red in a timed sequence. An ambulance with its blaring siren zooms across the intersection. She waits for the traffic noise to settle. "He's a fox."

* * *

Dusk flirts with the sky, splashing it a sad hue of bluish-gray. After chatting on the phone with her old friend Ruby, she stops at her study desk and organizes all the loose papers into their respective folders and places them aside on a neat stack. She then walks across the narrow of her tiny apartment and opens the door to the kitchen.

Nick is busy rolling basil leaves and cutting them cross-wise. The timer for the baked vegetables inside the oven goes off. Without putting the knife down, he reaches for the control pad of the stove and with a curled knuckle, presses the button to cancel the oven. He does the same thing to the timer on the microwave.

Judy comes up from behind and gingerly wraps her arms around Nick's waist. He is donned in un-tucked white dress shirt and khakis. She pushes her cheek against the side of his right arm, limiting his arm movement.

"Ohh look at my hard-working yet sexy fox chef," Judy flutters her eyes at him.

"You said you were going to be my sous chef. You ditched me after you cut up the mushrooms and then ate some," Nick whines, feigning hurt. "Sexy fox chef is not impressed."

"I'm so sorry. Ruby and I could really talk up a storm," she apologizes. She opens the cupboards to grab plates, glasses and utensils. "She invited me to her birthday party this weekend in the Burrow, and I want you to come with me. It will be in a club."

"A nightclub?" he almost scoffs. "I'm too old for that, Carrots. Besides, I'm a terrible dancer and you know it. I have like, one half-baked dance move to last through the night."

"I don't think you're that bad. And you're never too old to have fun, hmm?" the ever-positive Judy tries to encourage him.

Nick places the knife down and sweeps all the chopped basil from the board, then dumps them into the spaghetti sauce, which he proudly made from scratch. Internally, he has already agreed to go with her, but he's not giving this one that easily. "Wouldn't it be kind of weird that I'm meeting your friends first before your family? At least, personally, that's what I think."

Judy's ears straighten slightly before she leaves the kitchen to set up dinner on the study desk. It takes her awhile.

"My family is a tougher nut to crack, Nick," she returns and grabs the bowl of pasta. "They're extremely old-fashioned, to the point where they have this tendency to be narrow-minded," she says woefully. Wearing a pair of oven mitts on his hands, Nick opens the stove and picks up the zucchini and mushroom bake.

"Alright, well, one of these days I'm planning for us to make a trip to Rainforest. It would be nice if you could meet my mom." He follows Judy out to the main room.

She turns around, beaming. "Of course! That would be lovely."

Nick drags a vanity stool out of the bathroom and sits beside Judy, the study desk now transformed into a table full of home-cooked meal. Judy is talking non-stop about Ruby and some of her childhood friends who will be at the party while Nick listens quietly, twirling spaghetti through and around his fork. No insect meatballs, as per Judy's request. Instead of eating it, he takes the forkful of pasta and makes a beeline towards Judy. This makes her pause from blabbing and opens her mouth.

Nick suddenly pulls his hand back, shaking his head. Before Judy could protest, he is pointing adamantly at some area on his face. Judy giggles and proceeds to plant a kiss on his cheek, nuzzling her nose into his fur afterwards. Nick looks content as he continues the beeline and feeds Judy her first bite.

After the meal they clean up, Nick particularly interested in clearing the study desk first so he can use it to finish writing a case report while Judy goes on to washing the dishes. She picks a movie to watch and turns the volume low, leaving Nick alone for the rest of the night. Even though there is a bit of background noise from the streets and the TV, she knows nothing can distract Nick when he is writing, especially if it's work-related.

He puts his reading glasses on and tunes out completely.

It must've been around one o'clock in the morning when Judy stirs awake, slightly dazed. The TV is still switched on, the program now mostly about infomercials. She sits up and sees Nick passed out on the desk, both arms folded and his head sitting on top of papers. Surrounding his head are balls of crumpled papers, and his glasses are teetering on the edge of the table.

She would have missed it had she blinked, but she catches Nick shiver. Fighting an urge to wake him up, she carefully places the blanket over his back.

In the morning, she feels a pleasant kind of warmth that almost lulls her back to sleep. She opens her eyes and realizes her blanket has returned and Nick is laying on his side, facing her, fast asleep. She finds herself gleefully swimming in his scent and his day-old cologne, overwhelmed by a demanding familiarity that is Nick, at the same time reveling at how easy he elicits new feelings and emotions out of her. There is a couple of inches maintained between them, his left arm stretched, and paw draped across her stomach.

* * *

By the time Nick and Judy arrive at the club around ten-thirty PM, her friends are grouped in a circle outside the main entrance waiting for them. Since Judy does not own a car, Nick offered to drive, taking his Mustang convertible for a forty-minute drive to BunnyBurrow. They plan to stay at a friend's house overnight if Nick is not able to drive back to the city.

The parking lot runs along the side of the club where guests are in queue for the regular and the VIP line. After parking the car, Judy emerges first from the passenger seat, and then Nick, both quick to realize that the lineup of mammals are shamelessly gawking at them, whispering amongst themselves. For a minute, Judy feels almost ridiculed. She shrugs it off and keeps her head up, glancing back at Nick who is still standing on the other side of the car, already grinning at her.

Not having a large selection of clothes to begin with, he picked a pair of dark jeans and a black short sleeve button-down shirt for the night. He is down to only one layer of bandage now around his torso, his bruises starting to disappear and his ribs in less pain. Judy is in a taupe diamond cutout midi dress and black heels, with her lips matte red and her confidence sky high.

She squeals in joy upon seeing Ruby who is standing in the VIP line, and this prompts Ruby to squeal back, the rest of her friends behind the birthday girl erupting in a commotion. They are mostly rabbits and a couple of sheep. Nick appears to be shy at first, slow in his pace behind Judy, hands buried in his pockets. Warm introductions are made and Nick is quick to remember all six of Judy's friends' names.

Inside, the music is thundering, underlined heavily by bass, and a frenzy of flashing lights pierce through the dark of the club. Ruby booked a booth on a prime spot near the DJ but everyone is standing for now, separated into two lines; the four ladies on one side, and the four guys across them.

The guys are in a deep conversation about sports, describing what they do at work, and vacation plans. It takes a bit of time until Isaac, Ruby's boyfriend, starts to ask Nick questions about Judy, and the rest of them jump right in as if on cue. Nick, geared with his usual charm and wit, curates his answers to their questions carefully.

He takes another sip of rum and coke and steals a sidelong glance at Judy across the booth space. That's when he notices that all the girls are looking intently at him.

Ruby nudges Judy with her elbow. "Yikes, Judy, he's a total hunk," she says loudly at Judy's direction. "And I just don't say that about anyone generously."

"Thanks, Ruby, I think. He does clean up nicely."

"So what is it like…being with a fox?" Nelle the sheep is curious.

"You know, he's…normal, like everyone else. He's sweet and caring. Spending time together is important for him but he also gives me space for myself, to do I what I want…"

She pauses and surveys the girls' faces and they're looking at her with arched eyebrows and tiny smirks. Judy's expression sours at a sudden realization.

"No, what is _being with him_ like?" Nelle repeats the question with emphasis on certain words. Judy's face turns beet red at the implication of sex.

"Oh, sweet cheese! I-I don't know? We haven't…," Judy stammers, eyes shooting to the floor. "We're not quite there." She pauses to drink her Caesar.

"Well, I bet he's really good at a couple of things," Ruby's other friend Pia quips from the far end of the line, the group murmuring in agreement. Judy is suddenly extra conscious of herself.

"Judy. I bet you're dying to find out," Nelle waggles her eyebrows at her.

She drags her eyes slowly from the floor until she's looking at Nick's black shoes, and then higher, eyes landing on his jean pocket, then up more to blink at one of his shirt buttons, and finally her gaze stops at his neck.

She almost ignores Ruby who is trying to talk to her above the loud music.

"What were you thinking when you first met him? Was it love at first sight?"

Judy sighs and loosens up a little.

"Actually, no. Far from it. I was honestly trying to either blackmail him or arrest him," she responds. The rest of the girls laugh in unison but she is being serious.

* * *

An hour passes and everyone is more at ease with each other, probably with a little help from alcohol. After dancing and fighting their way through the packed dance floor, the group decides to retreat to their booth for another round of drinks. Everyone takes a seat, crammed side-by-side, exhaustion visible on their faces, except Judy.

With no more space in the booth, she struggles with balance as she sits on Nick's right leg, coiling her arm around his neck, her free hand reaching up to support her whirling head. At this point, she has had enough to drink. Nick snakes his right arm around her waist and watches her closely. He is hunched over as per his usual bad posture, which he tries to correct when he catches himself. His other hand is holding another full glass of rum and coke, elbow resting on left knee.

"Are you ok?" he asks, his breath hot on her fur. Ruby and her friends break into a fit of laughter in the middle of their conversation.

"Of course I'm…," she pauses and lets out a hiccup. "I'm ok." The hand that was holding her head up is now finding its way to cup one side of Nick's face. "Are you?"

Nick lets out a snort and tips the glass of alcohol into his mouth. "I'm holding up alright, Carrots. However, I'm worried about you. You may have just hit your limit." He looks for her bottle of Smirnoff on the table and pushes it away with his glass.

Apparently she is having a hard time listening because her mind has wandered off somewhere else.

"Nick. Do you ever…think about me?"

He is searching her face for something but he isn't sure what it is. "Do you really have no idea?", he answers her question with a question. She creeps in closer, her paw on his face keeping his sight locked in on her and only her. Her eyes flicker between his green eyes and his lips.

"When you're alone…do you think about…taking my clothes off and touching me," she is lustful and dizzy, her shoulders rising and falling dramatically with each breath. "…tasting me with your tongue and…" she finishes her sentences right into Nick's ear, his eyes widening at her inner fantasies. He swallows a lump in his throat as a shock bolts through his body and down to his groin. He puts his drink on the table.

Before he could respond in a rational way, Judy almost pushes him down as she kisses him sloppily, wet and loud, her tongue quick to find the roof of his mouth. Behind her ear and beyond her quiet moans, he confirms that they have completely caught her friends' attention, but they are polite enough to look away and continue their conversation.

Nick plucks his mouth off of Judy's and pulls her away using the arm on her waist. She looks confused and hurt.

"I thought you weren't ashamed of us. I thought you were proud to be with me."

"I am, Judy, I haven't changed my stance on that. But you're drunk. Had we been under a different circumstance I would've been thoroughly enjoying…this." He adjusts her skirt properly because it has hiked up her legs. "Also, I want you to have fun with your friends instead of us sucking faces, hmm?"

Judy is slow to let things sink in and just stares blankly. She sighs as she leans in on him, letting their foreheads touch. She calms down in his arms, her heart beating hard along with the music.

* * *

The night is coming to its end and Nick can't find Judy. The whole club has gone up a level of raucousness, and the floor is never empty. Nick finishes his drink and places his glass on the bar, off on a search to look for Judy in the dark. With the help of his night vision and the fact that he towers over everyone else in the club, he is able to spot her right away.

The clearer the view of her, the more he dislikes what he sees. There is a rabbit dressed in white wife-beater and baggy faded jeans who he registers is a bit too close to Judy. And if Nick is not mistaken, that rabbit is trying to put his paws on her cottontail.

That is all it takes for Nick to charge and plow through the jumping crowd unapologetically. Consumption of alcohol never fails to shorten his fuse. He happily interrupts their conversation, forcing his way between Judy and the rabbit. She lights up from seeing Nick.

"Hey sweetheart? Your friends are looking for you. They want to do more selfies in the bathroom."

Judy nods and turns around all wobbly, already forgetting about the rabbit who was trying to get her phone number. She leaves but Nick stays grounded where he is, crossing his arms and looking down at the rabbit.

"You got a problem, bro?" the rabbit is already shouting at him, his arm doing a sweeping gesture. "Are you lost or something? The exit is _that_ way."

Nick inhales sharply and puts a paw on his chest. "Do I look lost to you?"

"Yeah. Look around you. You're the only predator in this club. You're sticking out like a sore thumb," the rabbit continues his verbal tirade. Nick is about to step away and go back to the booth on the opposite end of the floor, sweating hard trying to remain composed.

"I was trying to get some piece of that rabbit's nice ass," the rabbit continues to ruffle Nick's feather.

He is relieved he didn't bring his weapon into the club. "I suggest you back off, bro, because _that ass_ will never belong to you," Nick is piping angry under his calm bravado that he is just waiting to burst.

"Oh yeah? What's it to you? Do you like her or something?"

Nick remains quiet and turns his back on the rabbit. The onlookers around them gasp as the rabbit poses on attack and shoves Nick unannounced. Nick topples forward but retains balance, his head dipped low and his fists curling and uncurling at his sides. The rabbit is not finished and shoves him again the second time, calling him all sorts of names. Nick looks like he's analyzing a piece of gum near his shoe.

"Reality check for the lonely pred in the house," the rabbit talks to the buzzing onlookers and points at Nick. "Check this; that fine rabbit will _never_ be interested in a fox like you. Go ahead, Google it!"

The rabbit is laughing like a psycho and is just about ready to give Nick a third shoving when Nick finally turns around to face him, his eyes dark and hooded. "Really? …You'd be surprised."

Nick swings his arm wide and connects his impatient fist into the rabbit's chin, hitting him hard with enough power to knock him back and roll off the floor, parting the shocked crowd behind them.

"Google my fist."

His head is in a downward and upward spiral and it detaches him from reality, the lights flashing in his eyes not helping him think straight. But he remembers stalking the downed rabbit as if their argument was not over, and he also remembers seeing Judy's friends holding him back, trying to slap some sense into him.

* * *

The incessant ringing of her cell phone is starting to irritate her and probably her neighbours.

Judy's head is buried under her pillow and she refuses to move. The phone rings some more and she groans, finally pushing the pillow aside. Her eyes are red from crying.

She doesn't greet him when she picks up the phone, sniffing at it instead. She sits up and rests her back against the wall.

"Darling, before you hang up, just hear me out ok?" Nick pleads on the other line.

A sad smile manages to brighten her face for a fleeting moment. She grabs a tissue and wipes her nose. "No I'm not hanging up this time."

The sound of relief in Nick's voice is almost comical. "Oh. Ok, great! Now we're uhh…starting to get somewhere here."

"Nick…just go away," she says in exasperation. She throws the ball of tissue across the room.

"See, I'm usually good at doing that, but I can't this time. It's not happening, Carrots," Nick pauses and clears his throat. "I apologize, with all my heart. I screwed up. I…I should've walked away last night, and not punch the idiot's daylights out."

"I heard he was bullying you, but two wrongs don't make a right. You're a cop…"

"Who happened to be off-duty."

"It doesn't matter. Do you know how fast word goes around in the Burrow? The whole club went haywire. My parents are probably hearing about this right now. You being a fox, they already don't like you to begin with, and now…" she jumps off the bed and drags her feet, making her way to the window. "I just wanted them to like you, Nick." She leans on the window frame, looking up at the sky. "I wanted you to start on the right foot."

"So I'll have to try harder. If I have to work to win your parents over, then so be it. Everything is going to be ok." Nick's promises covered in honey-dipped monotone is starting to alleviate Judy's mood.

"Ok. I'm…," she pauses and places her chin on her folded arm. "…still a bit shaken though."

"Why don't you go to your window and take in some fresh air."

"I am by the window."

Judy's eyes are fixated at the set of apartment windows straight across from hers on the other side of the street, mindlessly following the straight lines and the soft curves of the curtains inside. Out of nowhere, a white balloon blocks her view. There is something written on it in black marker, but she doesn't catch it.

It continues to float slowly upwards, her nose twitching at the weirdness of seeing a random balloon. Another one quickly follows it, and she stands upright on quick reflex so she could read the text.

" _I'm sorry_ "

Her eyebrows crease until she sees a third one.

" _I'm sorry I'm a dumb fox_ "

As seconds tick by, she gasps at the surging number of drifting white balloons bumping into each other just outside her window, the words "I'm sorry" imprinted in big letters. With the phone still glued to her ear, she tiptoes and hauls herself over the window frame so she could clearly see directly below, from three storeys up.

Standing outside the main door to the lobby, Nick is looking up at Judy with a smile on his face and a single balloon left in his hand. Judy returns the smile and disappears back into her room.

Within a minute, Judy is pushing the lobby door and steps out of the apartment building, meeting Nick on the sidewalk, her paws clasped behind her. They don't exchange words right away, letting their eyes do the talking. Nick finally glances at the last balloon he is still holding. This one has no text, but a big red heart drawn in the middle instead. He offers it to Judy as if it was fragile.

They are magnetized towards each other's arms, thoughts revolving around the other as if nothing else exists, while life continues like static in the background.


End file.
